In the early hours of Tuesday, chaos unfolded as the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, USA, collapsed following a collision with a massive container ship named Dali. The Maryland Transportation Authority (MTA) swiftly responded, announcing the tragic incident on social media and urging drivers to avoid the area, which they described as an “active scene” over the Patapsco River.
Before the collapse, the MTA had already shut down lanes in both directions due to an impending “incident,” rerouting traffic to ensure safety. Reports from the Baltimore Police Department indicated the possibility of individuals being in the river, adding urgency to the rescue efforts.
Here are nine crucial details shedding light on the ill-fated vessel, as sourced from AFP:
- The vessel responsible for the calamity is the Dali container ship, built in 2015 to sail under Singapore’s flag. It measures 300 meters in length, 48 meters in width, and stands 24.8 meters tall, boasting a gross tonnage of 95,000 tonnes, placing it in the category of average-sized container ships.
- Constructed by the Korean Hyundai shipyard, the Dali is owned by Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based company under a Hong Kong group. It was carrying containers on behalf of Danish shipping giant Maersk.
- Departing from Baltimore port at 1 am local time for a voyage to Colombo, Sri Lanka, the Dali collided with the bridge at 1:28 am, as reported by Marine Traffic.
- Synergy Marine, the operating company based in Singapore, confirmed that the ship was under the control of two Baltimore port pilots during the collision.
- The vessel accommodated 22 crew members, according to the port of Singapore, with no reported injuries. Additionally, Synergy assured that no leaks were detected following the incident.
- Known for linking Asian ports with the East Coast of the United States, the Dali had recently traversed the Panama Canal before making stops at New York, Norfolk, and finally Baltimore.
- Notably, the ship encountered a mishap shortly after commissioning in 2016, colliding with a dock in the Belgian port of Antwerp.
- With a fuel capacity of up to 8,344 cubic meters, the Dali is insured by the UK-based Britannia, according to Marine Traffic data.